What really lies behind the fact that there is no peace here yet? What are the origins of the pervasive brutality which permeates the state’s policies and our political life? Is our downtrodden past at the root of the prevalent violence? And, if so, how does one break this pathological cycle?

Many people have a childish tendency to always blame someone else. As in: “They took it from me! It wasn’t me, it was him!” In contentious political relations between two parties, it’s always easier to blame one’s adversary. However, one can’t always put the entire onus on others. A dispute requires two sides, and we’re one side of the equation.

Over the years, we’ve grown accustomed to a situation in which Palestinian shortcomings become our main rationale for the absence of peace. In any case, where such a patently “guilty” party exists – against whom it is so easy to incite the majority of Israelis – there is no real demand that we undertake an accounting of our own share of responsibility for the situation. It’s so convenient to declare complacently that “there is no partner for negotiations,” ignoring the truth that it is we who are no longer partners for negotiations over most issues – particularly when it comes to assuming responsibility for the situation. Why is this the case?

The tactics are obvious. Ever since 1967, Israel has strived to hold on to as many bargaining chips as possible. Over the years, we have become enamored with these chips and find it difficult to let go of them. Thus, we do everything possible to delay the anticipated negotiation process. When it does arrive, as happens periodically every few years, Israel simply can’t bring itself to make use of the cards it holds and put them on the table in exchange for the big prize: peace. Again, the question is: Why can’t it deliver the goods? What lurks in the depths of the Israeli player’s soul, whether he is affiliated to Labor or Likud, which prevents him from relinquishing the occupied territories? What lies behind this dread of peace, reconciliation and integration?

Fears, both real and imaginary, fervent religious beliefs, flourishing nationalism, national greed and enjoyment of power over others – these are but an “envelope.” They conceal two deep-rooted frames of mind that underlie our inability to achieve peace and reconciliation with our neighbors, preventing us from civil and cultural integration into the Middle East.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend millennia-old Jewish culture and worldviews without considering the interaction Jews experienced historically regarding the nations and cultures within which they existed. We “exported” values and concepts while “importing” others’ views and customs. The richness of Jewish thought, indeed of our whole civilization, is one that is based on dialogue with others who differ from us. Such a dialogue implicitly includes openness and attentiveness. Implicitly, but not in actuality. Jewish dialogue was always characterized by built-in suspicion, by contrariness and separateness as both a modus vivendi and a modus operandi. The rule was that one talks with others but remains restrained.

Expressions such as “it is an established fact that Esau hates Jacob,” “We are a people unto ourselves, taking no account of the gentiles” or “The whole world is against us” serve as raw materials that drive the Jewish people. The element of distrust of other nations is woven into the fabric of the way Jews operate. This stems not only from persecution and hatred, ghettos and bloodshed: It is also an internal and active choice expressed through our normative system of halakha (traditional Jewish law), which ensured this mode of thinking.

For many generations it forbade us to eat at the tables of gentiles (kashrut laws), to work according to their same schedules (Shabbat laws), or to engage in sexual relations with them (laws of purity and bans on mixed marriage). To the same extent that the gentiles rejected us, we wished to maintain our separateness.

The establishment of the State of Israel did not alter this psychological frame of mind. As a collective we are still captives of our conception of the world as a hostile place, even though this is no longer the case. We still seek isolation due to our perennial suspicion, which also takes the form of a survival strategy. Even in our sovereign and independent country, we – as if still living in a shtetl of some bygone age, surrounded by a protective wall called Israel – preserve and foster a pathological view of Jewish-gentile relations. At present, all this trapped energy is directed at our Middle Eastern surroundings.

It’s not only the Arabs we can’t talk to: It’s also the United States, Europe or anyone else. We are a self-absorbed people who live within ourselves. The State of Israel is continuing to employ the strategy of alienation that was always practiced by the Jewish people. We cast all our cumulative historic accounting onto our Palestinian adversaries. They fulfill the present needs; in the past we had Pharaoh, Haman, Antiochus, Khmelnytsky and Hitler. Now it’s the Palestinians’ turn.

Even though Palestinian shoulders are too small to carry the entire burden of history’s Jew-haters, we refuse to remove it from their backs. We need an absolutely evil external foe in order to define ourselves. We have good strategic responses and enough proven cumulative experience to know how to survive in a hostile world. We still don’t know if we as contemporary Jews can survive without an external enemy. Until we have a definitive answer, we will not release the Palestinians from their role as the enemy that defines us.

Within this mental state, not yet mature enough to reconcile and make peace with the world in general and the Arab world in particular, the issue of violence rears its head. There are potentially multiple modes of interaction available to us between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – modes that do not include power struggles or a disgraceful occupation based on systemic violence (built-in discrimination, selective investment in infrastructure, cantonization and curfews), as well as civic violence (associated with settlement construction, price-tag reprisal operations), and which are so aggressive.

Why, then, do we repeatedly find ourselves embracing the most brutal alternatives, sanctifying them above all others? The explanation must again turn to the realm of psychology. Undoubtedly our past is replete with instances of violence directed at us. Our memories tend to underscore the bad, with a meager effort invested in fostering the memories and heritage of past fruitful coexistence between Jews and their non-Jewish environment.

A feeling of victimhood – as if our lengthy national childhood was one characterized by abuse – has turned us into a country that behaves like an abusive parent. This is how it works in nature, where violence is perpetuated from one generation to the next. The parents were fearful and beaten, so the children become thugs, yet remain fearful and lacking in self-confidence.

Where are the keys needed to break this impasse? One of them is the passage of time. Maybe there is no such thing as “Peace Now.” Maybe our temporal proximity to the trauma of the ovens does not allow us to act with cold logic, only with hot passion. Maybe we need to wait for the next generation, already born, to accomplish what two generations – ourselves and our parents – totally failed at doing.

The other key is unfair, placing responsibility for Israel’s wellbeing on the Palestinians, for their own good as well. I liken Israel to a lazy elephant, sprawled across the road. It has no motivation to budge. It enjoys seeing itself as big and powerful, heavy, reclining and satiated.

It’s not surprising that in politics it is the weak and hungry that are agents of change. In contrast to a strong agent that has no motivation to move, the weak Palestinian can effect change. How? Violence has not wrought change, since we have become inured, even addicted to it. Each blow only adds to the historical fate to which we believe we have been subjected to over time – to justifying the present situation on the backdrop of our traumatic past.

Only one thing will raise the elephant from its current pose: a nonviolent campaign of civil disobedience, a creative and determined insurrection aimed at one goal – attaining equal rights. It seems as if there has been a recent awakening among Palestinians in this direction. This is reflected in a transition from a discourse about interests, power, terror and honor to a conversation about values, rights and liberties. Many Palestinians are rightfully angry at Israel, holding it accountable for many wrongs, but they are no longer afraid of it or feel threatened by making peace with it. They have internalized the positive aspects of a political settlement, and, in terms of their political mental framework, they are well ahead of many Israelis. More and more Palestinians are acting in the political arena without fear and with an ideology of nonviolent resistance. Israel has no response to such a course of action, neither a military, political nor moral one.

In contrast, Israelis are still an anxious collective. Since peace and fears don’t mix well together, we still don’t have peace. The dread inside us has taken on a life of its own, to which we’ve become accustomed and even addicted. Fears can play a positive role, keeping us alert in the face of dangers and threats, leading us to deal with them in an appropriate manner. For too many Israelis, any kind of peace is enmeshed in an existential dread, a condition that supposedly conceals a plot to eradicate us, posing risks but no opportunities.

There will only be peace here when the masses and their political leaders internalize the fact that peace is a therapy for our fears. It is the total, completely beneficial alternative to all our historical phobias – a condition that can replace or erase them. Paradoxically, the Palestinians – who now bear the brunt of our current historic phase of fears and phobias – can save Israel from itself. A million Palestinians who relate to Israel and its corrupting occupation with peace and conciliation, rather than with terror and hostility, will do well for themselves and us.

Only this will make us finally relinquish our imaginary bargaining chips before the complete moral collapse of the whole Zionist house of cards.

Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Knesset and head of the Jewish Agency, is a writer, volunteer and social activist.

The articles that appear in this section have also been published in Hebrew and Arabic.

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I was quite comforted by the views expressed by Mr Avraham Burg, because
indeed one cannot find peace with others unless one would have peace
with oneself. The events of the preceding few weeks with the abhorrent
murders of four innocent Israeli children required much soul searching
and self-reflection beyond that vicious circle of nonsensical violence.
Some have already dismissed the article as idealistic. Others may even
call Mr Burg a self-hating or self-apologetic Jew. BUT many others,
including myself, from the SILENT majority everywhere in the Middle East
(Jews, Christians, Muslims and others), would applaud him for his
courage in keeping the discussion open, so that everyone can peer deeply
into their own soul to seek what is just and what is right, and act
accordingly. May humanity and Peace prevail always!

Avraham, your essay is well written. It kindly and with great empathy exposes the deep collective psychological scars that are frustrating this generation of Jew, both Israeli and American, from a vision of Israel at peace with a world to whom it is a light unto the nations. I find my fellow American Jew as fearful of reaching out toward peace and as myopic in its worldview as the Israel of this generation which you so aptly describe. I have recently attended several J Street events and see that Zionist American organization seeking to enlighten Jews with a different worldview. Your thoughts on J Street?

If this was a marriage and Israel is the groom: The bride hates you and
wants you dead, The in-laws want to wipe you off the map. The brides
friends all hate you and and blame you for their problems. An your the
one who its told to give up things that were given by your great great
grandparents and everything will be just fine!

If this was a marriage and Israel is the groom: The bride hates you and
wants you dead, The in-laws want to wipe you off the map. The brides
friends all hate you and and blame you for their problems. An your the
one who its told to give up things that were given by your great great
grandparents and everything will be just fine!

Interesting essay. Shows signs of maturity. But omits to mention Israel
started the conflict with Palestine. And omits to mention how that
happened. This is the real sticking point. No one wants to admit to
being the bad guy. Not just because they'ed feel bad and have to
apologize and promise to be nicer, learn a lesson and what all. They'ed
also have to give back the stuff. All of Israel stands on Palestinian
ground. A tough place to begin negotiations. It's a lot like South
Africa. And we know how that turned out.

There was a sovereign Jewish state in Palestine centuries before Islam
was invented. That state was invaded and destroyed by the Romans. Any
people whose land is taken from them in this way has a right of return.
The Jews are perfectly entitled to exercise that right.

Borg discounts the Inquisition, ages of discrimination and repression of
Jews, restrictions of residence and marriage and civil rights in many
countries for Jews, the influence of anti-Semitic propaganda like the
"protocols of Zion" preached in Arabic countries currently and
blames Jewish problem on Jewish alienation. Apparently it's not the
Arabs blaming Jews for all their problems but vice versa. Looks like the
article was written by Bobby Fischer.

the facts: Rabbi Sassoon Kehdouri, Iraq's Chief Rabbi for 48 years,
speaking before the 1946 Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry on
Palestine: "Iraqi Jews will be forever against Zionism. Jews and
Arabs have enjoyed the same rights and privileges for a thousand years
and do not regard themselves as a distinctive separate part of this
nation." Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, also addressing
the 1946 Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry: "I would not like to
do any injustice. The Muslim world has treated the Jews with
considerable tolerance. The Ottoman Empire [of which the Arabs were a
major part] received the Jews with open arms when they were driven out
of Spain and Europe, and the Jews should never forget that."
Albert Einstein, 1939: “There could be no greater calamity than a
permanent discord us and the Arab people.…. Let us recall that in
former times no people lived in greater friendship with us.”

The foundational statement is flawed, therefore the argument built on
top is unstable. It is incorrect to say that conflict is always the
result of failure on both sides. It is this wrong headed thinking that
leads people to say that a rape victim must also have been at fault.
Nonsense. The Arab factions that attempt to bully Isreal do so because
they gain a twisted satisfaction from doing so and because they can.
They will not stop, ever, because they are thugs.

Apparently, Avraham Borg would blame the efforts of Hezbollah and
al-Quaeda on Jews too! Poor terrorists, it's so hard to fill the shoes
of Jew-haters, Avraam says. This is even stupider than an Israeli Jew
who made a film which concludes that anti-Semitism doesn't exist. How
dare you?

Too many of Israel's politicians' careers thrive on a popular fear (and
hate?) of Palestinians. Those same politicians will cultivate that fear
even further whenever the opportunity arises. Unfortunately they have
destroyed any credibility Israel may have had and in reality contribute
to the anti-Semitism arising elsewhere.

What an idiot you are, Avraham Burg! Blaming the Jews, your own people,
for using Hitler and Khmelnytsky as an excuse for our problems is just
about the stupidest and most disposable thing to do! Ay-ay-ay, poor
Palestinians, it is so hard for them to hate the Jews! Thanks for giving
liberal rejects and anti-Semites support from the mouth of an Israeli,
while Hamas actively pursues your state's destruction and kidnaps and
kills Jewish children. Shame on you!

Has anyone considered slicing off a piece of Israel that contains the
entire border of Lebanon, some coast and some border with Syria and
giving it to the Palestinians for their homeland ? Make business not
war. These people need a place to live other than a prison camp, and the
people if Israel need a place to grow up with peace, without this
constant 2 sided revenge. Nobody can bring back the dead, what's done
is wrong, but done. The only change can be for tomorrow, make it good.
Both peoples need to put down the burden and concentrate on building
something new.

I have had same belief for many years, if Palestinian people followed
non-violent civil disobedience type of a model, they would have had
everything they wanted and more. When you indulge in violence, it gives
justification to other side to use overwhelming force. As it is one
sided fight as far as military strength is concerned.

If there is to be peace someday the first thing that has to happen is
for Gaza to be emptied of all Islamist. They need to be moved to the FAR
WEST bank & the settlers who now live in the FAR WEST bank need to
be moved out & into Gaza. Next all Jewish people need to be moved
out of the future Islamic State & all Muslims need to be moved out
of Israel. Lastly the borders need to be set & Israel pulls out 100%
of all new Arab lands, seal them off with a wall for the next 25 years
or so until everyone calms down.....

Palestinians love their children more than your parents ever did love
you. You still don,t get what life under brutal occupation is like. The
kids see what is done to them and their parents and sooner or later some
of them will snap. What would you do if you were a 15 yr old snatched in
the middle of the night and tortured for months or years with no trial
and no charge?

The peace Burg, Levy, et al want and wish for is surrender,
capitulation, falseness. Peace for the sake of peace will not get it
done. Israel will cease to exist months after Burg's vision of peace.
What will he say then, OOPS ???? The Left is dripping with naïve
sophomoric foolishness. Sorry, let us handle the job, Burg.

no, israel doesnt have peace because marxist jewry and their black
hitler obama are determined to spread islam thru/o the mideast, destroy
israel and eventually murder every christian they can get their hands
on. if the good jews, i.e., the israelis fighting for their LIVES would
speak out against marxist jewry, ie the four jewish oligarchs who
currently run obamica/judaica for the rothschild gang: bloomberg, soros,
zukkerberg, and buffet. yes w. buffett is a marxist jew! then
christians and righteous jews could unite against the common enemy
marxist jewry and marxist islam. until then you are digging your own
mass graves.

You are idiots. The Rats will never stop terrorizing the Jews. The more
you are nice to them, the more they take advantage of you. This paper,
frankly, is staffed by a bunch of Jews who hate their own kind.

Biggest pile of "lets blame the victim"..I've read in
years...how many deals have been made? and who has broken every single
one without exception?...who refuses to remove from their CHARTER the
elimination of Israel from the planet...Appeasement never
works...smarten up.

The writer falls back on strategies to get his point across that are
part of the problem. He spends all of his words, labeling an
"other". He is courageous, knowing the world is incredibly
safe. The "other" is plagued fear, falsely believing the
world is perilous. He is active. The "other" complacent.
He is modern, updated. The "other" is traditional. He and
the Palistineans have shown they want peace. The "other"
wants war. This is a very simple peace, somewhat passive aggressive.
But, the piece needs less labeling and self-concept and more ideas.
More support for its arguments. More real discussion. Labels,
claims, and a lofty self-concept do not a good argument make. They are
also part of why political discourse has become so fractious.

All Israel's wars were defensive, under international law they legally
own the land. Scripturally the land is Gods and he has put jewish people
on it. There is no occuppation of Palestinians land. Dividing the land
will cause WWIII. Persia,Russia ect. Will invade northern
israel(ez.38&39), next the EU under antichrist, then china and
company will invade. The remnant of jews will accept jesus as messiah.
That's when he will return & desroy the armies in israel. Just so u know.

Some of the sinews may have come together on those bones in that dry
valley, but Israel has not fully realized its revival. When their hearts
were fully set on the Lord, the Philistines were in complete subjection
to them. When they were carried away in their own self-sufficiency,
self-gratifications and worship of others and other things, they became
beset by the smallest to largest of people's around them. I believe in
Jesus Christ Who is the Prince of Peace, the Counselor, the Mighty God
and the Everlasting Father. And I love Israel. My prayer is that Israel
will become fully alive, standing, with the wind of God breathed into
their entire national being. True Americans who love righteousness love
you, Israel. Stand strong!

Israel is fearful and doesn't have peace because every country around
them has, at one time or another, sworn to destroy them. Also because, a
bunch of war mongering criminals keep firing rockets at random places in
Israel (schools, hospitals, market places). These anarchists don't care
who their weapons kill or maim.

It did, Egypt is an ally and has been working tirelessly whether
publicly or hidden from sight, but always cooperating and doing whatever
is needed to ensure security of Israel. You people who do not
understand security maybe shouldn't be talking to much about it.
Consider if Egypt left the borders unprotected. It doesn't matter how
much we protect our borders, we'd need to occupy parts of Egypt to
protect it, which would result in war. If we didn't we'd be overrun
within 1 year with foreigners, non-natives and security weakening
elements...no more Israel. Now do you appreciate all the help Egypt has
given in secret? We can only be thankful al-Sissy continues this
important cooperation.

It isn't, that is just a myth. Religion might have been the start, but
it isn't the problem now. The reason for that is that all claims are
based on laws, there are legal claims to the land. Israelis refuse to
follow them as the plan is progressing. Unfortunately greed has come in
the way, instead of taking unilateral steps right now and annex cleared
areas and cleared security areas, extremists are trying to steal more.
Reason? Not following the law and greed, not religious..

Israeli officials, and the people voting them in office, don't want
peace, the US road map, the Arab league peace plan and Palestinian peace
talks made on the same basis, 67 borders and land swaps, are waiting for
Israel's concern since more than a decade: but Israel doesn't feel
concerned by peace because it has chosen the land-stealing status quo.

Israel has absolutely zero room for mistakes. There is not a single
culture that is more despised than the Jewish one. Even here in America
it comes up all the time when talking about economics and Hollywood. A
large group of people blame the Jews for our problems just because of a
Jewish person or a couple of involved Jews. People are so quick all
around the world to lump all Jews and blame them for the actions of a
few. Some people here in the US even blame 9/11 on the Jews. ??? It's
quite idiotic. The thing is, when the US went into Europe, we didn't do
it to save the Jews. That was barely even a side goal. Now that the
Jewish people are in Israel, if the whole "peace" initiative
were to backfire and the Muslims run through Jerusalem like Hitler,
where would the help come from? I can almost guarantee you not the US
and not Europe. There would be no D-Day to liberate Israel, there would
be no liberation from Muslims at all. There would be just a couple of UN
sanctions, a page 4 paragraph in the New York Times and then a small
chapter in the History books about how Jews used to exist freely in the
world. Trust me this whole Palestinian peace plan is just a "peace
now, war later" initiative.

The US has more Jews than Israel, and more Arabs than Palestine. We've
had millions of both for over a century. The two grow up together,
attend the same schools, and work in the same sites. The kids play on
the same teams, and attend the same schools. On any junior college or
college campus, you'll see kids and faculty in kippas and hijabs
chatting in the student union, over coffee. Israel can't make Americans
fear people with whom we grew up.

A little of their OWN land back, and NO water? Now the ENTIRE Arab
League offers permanent peace, recognition, trade and diplomacy for the
Green Line border. That's where the border is going to be anyway. That
offer has been on the table for 15 years. Israel says, "Nyet!"

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